United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:

"By re-nominating Richard Stickler as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health, President Bush has ignored the will of the U.S. Senate and added insult to injury to coal miners and their families.

"Despite the fact that the Senate with a Republican majority failed to muster sufficient support to approve the earlier nomination, Bush is clearly determined to try to ram through the appointment to the government's top mine safety job a person whose entire career has encouraged production over safety. What is more, Bush has turned his back on the families of the victims of this year's mine tragedies, rejecting their pleas, expressed even at the signing ceremony for the MINER Act, to abandon this ill-advised move.

"We are also appalled at the second slap that the White House delivered to the Senate by re-nominating John Correll for Director of the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation. The UMWA remains strongly opposed to both of these appointments as the wrong people for the jobs, and will fight vigorously to ensure that the will of the people and their elected representatives are not ignored."